Liner wear in a bearing is the primary metric used to determine usable life in lined bearings. Therefore, it is very important to quantify the amount of wear on a bearing liner. A liner on or for a bearing can be described, but without limitation, as a sacrificial wear surface applied circumferentially to a bearing. Measuring liner wear around the entire bearing circumference helps to better quantify the maximum wear being experienced. This helps determine if liner systems do in fact meet certain wear thresholds.
Bearings, especially in the military, are sometimes used in environments that include contamination and vibrations that may introduce unusual wear patterns. If these bearings are used in critical applications, it is very important to accurately analyze bearing liner wear to predict usable life. A liner wear map around the entire bearing circumference may help identify premature failure by identifying features such as secondary wear zones or wear not in the region of the expected loading.